Sarthaks.club ads: what it is and how to remove it
Sarthaks.club is a website that promotes a free service that allows visitors to create a greeting card for the New Year celebration and send it to their friends or family. The postcard contains a variety of flashing animations and text, poor-quality pictures, and other components that look like they were compiled back in the 2000s.
Facts checked October 6, 2026. Removal steps tested on Windows 11 (26H2) and checked against Microsoft's and the browser makers' current documentation. Sections marked as our earlier report are the original text: they describe the threat as it was then and have not been reviewed since. The 2026 status, the removal steps and the questions are current.
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Sarthaks.club ads: summary
| Distribution | Software installations, deceptive ads, and websites |
|---|---|
| Name | Sarthaks.club |
| Type | Site that offers a free postcard creation service; frequent redirects might indicate adware infection |
| Related script | whatsapp://send?text=ðŸ'Œ Happy New Year wishes by **! %0A*->* Read Here.ðŸ'‡%0D%0Asarthaks.club/?u= |
| Category | Potentially unwanted program |
| Symptoms | Delivers intrusive advertisements, causes malicious redirects |
| Removal | Scan the PC with security software to find and remove the malware and anything installed with it. Fortect scans Windows for malware and repairs the system files and settings it damaged. Remove it nowTo use the full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Fortect. The scan is free. |
Show 9 more facts
| Main danger | Tracks and collects information about users' online habits |
|---|---|
| Detection names | No Microsoft detection name is known |
| Damage | Not recorded in the old report |
| Evidence | 4 write-ups by security sites; details still limited |
| Domains | sarthaks.club |
| Ads shown as | Redirects through ad pages |
| Browsers | Chrome, Edge and Firefox |
| First seen | 2 January 2020 |
| Facts checked | 6 October 2026 |
What the Sarthaks.club ads ads look like
Let this New Year be the one,
Is Sarthaks.club ads dangerous?
From our report of Jan 2020 · not reviewed since
Sarthaks.club is an insecure site that offers to generate a free digital postcard for the new year celebration
Sarthaks.club is a website that promotes a free service that allows visitors to create a greeting card for the New Year celebration and send it to their friends or family.
The postcard contains a variety of flashing animations and text, poor-quality pictures, and other components that look like they were compiled back in the 2000s. Users are asked to enter the name of the recipient and press "Go" which completes the creation of the Sarthaks.club greeting card.
Users are then asked to share the card via WhatsApp - a popular chat application used by millions of people worldwide. Once the "Share on Whatsapp" link is clicked, a "whatsapp://send?text=ðŸ'Œ Happy New Year wishes by **! %0A*->* Read Here.ðŸ'‡%0D%0Asarthaks.club/?u=" script is sent out, which consequently gains access to the sender's account. This might result in a WhatsApp account compromise.
Besides, those who encounter redirects to Sarthaks.club site might be infected with adware or a browser hijacker. These potentially unwanted programs usually get installed together with other programs in a software bundle; thus, users rarely notice the entry point.
Nevertheless, the symptoms of infection may include redirects to suspicious sites, intrusive ads, sponsored links in search results, and other suspicious activity on Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, or another browser.
Sarthaks.club pop-ups frustrate users as they may cover up the background of legitimate websites. Also, when clicked, these pop-ups might redirect users to phishing or even malware-laden sites. Therefore, it is vital not to explore any of the encountered promotions or ads, and close down the browser immediately.
Also, Sarthaks.club may use tracking cookies that are implemented into the browser and collect the information about web browsing history. This is done to use targeted advertisement for more profits.
When you visit Sarthaks.club you are greeted with the colorful message that encourages to touch the gift. This interactive button then activates a New Year message on the screen:
Sarthaks.club also provides a different message in 2020:
You are suggested to enter your name and make this message personal. While the cheesy message might appeal to some, the minimal effort that was put to create this site should create an opposite effect for most. More ever, the presence of adware might lead to more serious infections. Therefore, you should remove Sarthaks.club pop-ups from your computer as soon as possible.
Sarthaks.club adware can affect the machine in various ways:
- deliver intrusive advertisements;
- redirect to suspicious websites;
- deliver promotional content that contains automatic installs;
- affect the performance of Chrome, Firefox, Explorer browsers.


From our report of Jan 2020 · not reviewed since
PUPs are hidden in software bundles
You need to pay more attention to the installation procedure of free software.
Typically, users do not think that it is worth spending time on the process and do want to be done with it as soon as possible. Unfortunately, such activities might result in various potentially unwanted program infiltration on the PC. Luckily, there are several steps you can take to reduce the probability of such an outcome.
Make sure to install your software from a reputable source or the official website because this way you know exactly what type of program is going to be installed on your machine. You can also avoid PUPs by choosing Advanced or Custom options during installation instead of Recommended ones. This way, you can deselect unwanted programs from the list and install the applications you intended to.
From our report of Jan 2020 · not reviewed since
Terminate Sarthaks.club from the system and clean the device thoroughly
For full Sarthaks.club removal, you should employ a reputable anti-malware tool.
A thorough system scan can indicate if there are several infections hidden inside the computer, and eliminate them all. This method is simple and only requires a few minutes of your time.
Alternatively, you can also remove Sarthaks.club virus manually. You can simply follow our step-by-step guide below, and then refresh each of the affected browsers. However, be aware that this method requires some basic computer knowledge and might be too complicated for some.
From our report of Jan 2020 · not reviewed since
More from our earlier report on Sarthaks.club
- Wishing You Happy New Year 2019 Let this New Year be the one, where all your dreams come true, so with a joyful heart, put a start to this year anew.
- Wishing you a prosperous and happy New Year 2019!
- May the New Year brings lots of good news to you!
- May this new year bring you much joy and fun.
- New Year is the time to touch every heart with love and care.
- New Year is the time to receive and send blessings.
- It is the time to breathe the magic in the air.
- Wish you a very Happy New Year 2020 !!
Check your browser and PC
- Address:
sarthaks.club
How to remove Sarthaks.club ads
Work in this order and test a few links after each step, so you know which one was the cause.
Step 1: Check the browser's extensions
A browser that keeps landing on
sarthaks.clubby itself usually has an add-on doing it. Open the extension list (chrome://extensions, edge://extensions, or Extensions and themes in the Firefox menu) and remove anything you do not remember installing.Coupon, PDF, new tab, search and video downloader add-ons are the usual suspects. Do this in every browser on the Windows 11 or Windows 10 PC.

Chrome on Windows 11: More > Extensions > Manage extensions. Full procedure with screenshots: Remove a browser extension
Step 2: Reset the browser if the redirects continue
When
sarthaks.clubkeeps opening after the extensions are cleaned, reset the browser to its defaults. Chrome: Settings > Reset settings > Restore settings to their original defaults; Edge: Settings > Reset settings; Firefox: Help > More troubleshooting information > Refresh Firefox.A reset keeps bookmarks and saved passwords but clears site permissions, the start page and the search engine.
If every browser still redirects afterwards, the cause is a program in Windows 11 or Windows 10: check Settings > Apps > Installed apps for anything you did not install.

Chrome on Windows 11: Settings > Reset settings. Full procedure with screenshots: Reset a browser and fix a hijacked search engine
Step 3: Scan the PC if you downloaded anything from the ads
Most people who only saw the notifications can skip this step. If a notification or the page it opened made you download or run a file, delete the file and run a full scan, then a Microsoft Defender Offline scan.
In Windows 11 and Windows 10 open Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Scan options, select Microsoft Defender Antivirus (offline scan) and click Scan now. The PC restarts and the scan takes about 15 minutes, so save your work first.

Windows 11: Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Scan options. Full procedure with screenshots: Run a Microsoft Defender Offline scan
Instructions for each browser and system
The detailed steps for every browser and system this guide covers. Open the one you use.
Uninstall from Windows
Clean your Windows device using these tips:
Uninstall from Windows 10/8:
- Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
- Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.

Uninstall from Windows 7/XP:
- Click on Windows Start > Control Panel (Windows XP users should click on Add/Remove Programs).
- In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.

Remove the unwanted program:
- In the Programs and Features window, look for any recently installed suspicious entries, select them, and click Uninstall.
- If User Account Control appears, click Yes to confirm, then complete the removal.

Remove from Google Chrome
Clean your Chrome browser from Sarthaks.club related content:
Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:
- Open Google Chrome, click on the Menu (three vertical dots at the top-right corner) and select More tools > Extensions.
- In the newly opened window, you will see all the installed extensions. Uninstall all suspicious extensions related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove.

Clear cache and web data from Chrome:
- Click on Menu and pick Settings.
- Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
- Select Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
- Click Clear data.

Change your homepage:
- Click menu and choose Settings.
- Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
- Click on Open a specific or set of pages and click on three dots to find the Remove option.
Reset Google Chrome:
If the previous methods did not help you, reset Google Chrome to eliminate all the unwanted components:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
- Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
- Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
- Confirm with Reset settings.

Remove from Microsoft Edge
Remove Sarthaks.club from the MS Edge browser to improve the speed:
Delete unwanted extensions from MS Edge:
- Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
- From the list, pick the extension and click on the Gear icon.
- Click Remove.

Clear cookies and other browser data:
- Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Settings > Privacy, search, and services..
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Select Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files. (apart from passwords, although you might want to include Media licenses as well, if applicable) and click on Clear.

Restore new tab and homepage settings:
- Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
- Then find On startup section.
- Click Remove next to any suspicious startup page.
Reset MS Edge if the above steps did not work:
- Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
- Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
- Select Details tab.
- Now scroll down and locate every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right-click on each of them and select End Task to stop MS Edge from running.

Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):
- Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
- Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.

Clear cache and site data:
- Click on Menu and go to Settings.
- Select Privacy, search and services.
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Under Time range, pick All time.
- Select Clear now.

Reset Chromium-based MS Edge:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- On the left side, pick Reset settings.
- Select Restore settings to their default values.
- Confirm with Reset.
- This will disable extensions and reset startup pages but will not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.

Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
Remove dangerous extensions:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the Menu (three horizontal lines at the top-right of the window).
- Select Add-ons.
- In here, select the unwanted extension and click Remove.

Reset the homepage:
- Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
- Choose Settings.
- Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.
Clear cookies and site data:
- Click Menu and pick Settings.
- Go to Privacy & Security section.
- Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
- Click on Clear Data...
- Select Cookies and Site Data and Temporary cached files and pages, then click Clear.

Reset Mozilla Firefox
If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
- Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information.

- Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox...
- Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox.

Delete from Safari
Remove dangerous extensions:
- Open Safari, click Safari in the menu at the top-left of the screen, and select Preferences.
- Go to the Extensions tab, look for any suspicious entries, and click Uninstall to remove them.

Clear history and website data:
- Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
- Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.

Reset Safari:
- Click Safari in the menu and select Preferences > Advanced.
- Enable Show Develop menu in menu bar.
- From the menu bar, click Develop and select Empty Caches.

Delete from macOS
Remove the unwanted application:
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for any suspicious entries, then drag them to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash).

Delete leftover files and folders:
- Select Go > Go to Folder.
- Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
- Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.

- Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.
Reset Internet Explorer
Remove dangerous add-ons:
- Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
- Pick Manage Add-ons.
- You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.

Change your homepage if it was altered:
- Open IE and click on the Gear icon.
- Select Internet Options.
- In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
- Click Apply and then select OK.

Delete temporary files:
- Press on the Gear icon and select Internet Options.
- Under Browsing history, click Delete...
- Select relevant fields and press Delete.

Reset Internet Explorer:
- Click on Gear icon > Internet options and select Advanced tab.
- Select Reset.
- In the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset.

Protect your privacy - employ a VPN
There are several ways how to make your online time more private - you can access an incognito tab.
However, there is no secret that even in this mode, you are tracked for advertising purposes. There is a way to add an extra layer of protection and create a completely anonymous web browsing practice with the help of VPN. This software reroutes traffic through different servers, thus leaving your IP address and geolocation in disguise.
Besides, it is based on a strict no-log policy, meaning that no data will be recorded, leaked, and available for both first and third parties. The combination of a secure web browser and VPN will let you browse the Internet without a feeling of being spied or targeted by criminals.
No backups? No problem. Use a data recovery tool
If you wonder how data loss can occur, you should not look any further for answers - human errors, malware attacks, hardware failures, power cuts, natural disasters, or even simple negligence.
In some cases, lost files are extremely important, and many straight out panic when such an unfortunate course of events happen. Due to this, you should always ensure that you prepare proper data backups on a regular basis.
If you were caught by surprise and did not have any backups to restore your files from, not everything is lost. is one of the leading file recovery solutions you can find on the market - it is likely to restore even lost emails or data located on an external device.
Questions about Sarthaks.club ads
How do I stop sarthaks.club from opening?
Find and remove whatever opens it. Start with the browser's extensions page and remove anything you do not remember adding. Next, open the notification settings and take away permission from sites you do not recognise.
Then check Settings > Apps > Installed apps for programs added around the day the redirects began, and uninstall those. Restart the browser and test a few links after each step.
If sarthaks.club still appears, reset the browser, which restores the default search engine, start page and permissions without deleting bookmarks or saved passwords. Redirects that survive a reset in every browser point to a program in Windows, and a full scan is the next step.
Is it safe that my browser was redirected to sarthaks.club?
Landing on sarthaks.club does not infect the PC by itself. A browser does not run programs from a page without your action. The danger is in the pages that come next:
- some ask you to allow notifications
- some show fake virus warnings
- some offer downloads
- ask for card details
If you only saw those pages and closed them, nothing more is needed than removing whatever caused the redirect. If you allowed notifications, remove that permission.
If you downloaded a file, delete it unopened, or uninstall it if you ran it. If you typed a password or card number on one of the pages, change the password and call your bank.
What is Sarthaks.club?
Sarthaks.club is an ad redirect domain, a kind of adware. It earns money by showing redirects through ad pages, and each view, click or redirect pays whoever runs it. It is not something people usually choose; it arrives through a free download, a fake button or a misleading prompt.
Sarthaks.club does not encrypt files or take control of Windows, but its ads are sold to anyone, including scam operators, so they can lead to fake virus warnings and unwanted downloads. The steps in this guide remove it from Windows and from each browser.
Why does sarthaks.club keep showing up?
There are two possible reasons. If it appears as desktop notifications, a browser on this PC was given permission to receive them from sarthaks.club, usually through a misleading prompt. That permission stays until you remove it in the browser's site settings.
If it appears as tabs or redirects, an ad on a site you visit is opening it, or an extension or program on the PC is. Test a private window: if sarthaks.club never appears there, an extension is the likely cause. The plan above covers each case.
Which browsers does Sarthaks.club affect?
In the cases we checked, Sarthaks.club showed up in Chrome, Edge and Firefox. That does not rule out others on your PC, since adware installers often target every browser they find, and permissions and extensions sync across computers signed in to the same browser account.
Open each browser you have, go to its extensions page and its notification settings, and remove anything you do not recognise. Profiles count separately: Chrome and Edge can each hold several, and each one needs checking on its own.
Are the pop-ups I see really from Sarthaks.club?
Compare them with the details in the table above. Sarthaks.club produces redirects through ad pages, and the clearest sign of it is redirects to sarthaks.club. Other adware looks similar, so check the name of the sending site at the bottom of a notification, the address in the tab that opened, or the newest entries on the extensions page.
If those match, this guide fits. If you see a different name, the same kind of steps apply, but remove the item you actually find rather than guessing.
Did Sarthaks.club collect my data?
Adware typically collects what it needs to choose ads:
- the sites you visit
- search terms
- approximate location
- browser and system details
Extensions with permission to read and change data on all websites can technically see everything on those pages, including forms. That is a privacy problem rather than proof of theft.
If you typed card details or passwords while it was active, changing the most important passwords is a reasonable precaution. Clearing cookies after removal ends the tracking sessions it may have started.
My scan found nothing, but the ads continue. Why?
Because the source may not be a file a scanner looks for. Browser notifications are a permission stored in the browser, and many adware extensions are not flagged because they come from an official store.
Some ad-supported programs are only reported if you enable detection of potentially unwanted apps. So a clean scan does not mean the job is done. Check each browser's notification permissions and extension list by hand, and turn on Potentially unwanted app blocking in Windows Security before scanning again.
Can an adware pop-up infect my PC just by appearing?
No. A pop-up, a notification or a new tab is only a web page or a message. It cannot run programs on Windows by itself, provided the browser and Windows are up to date. Infection needs a step from you:
- running a downloaded file
- installing an extension
- giving a stranger remote access
That is why scam pages work so hard to make you click. Close such pages with the tab's X or by closing the browser, not with buttons inside the page, which may start a download.
Will Fortect remove Sarthaks.club?
Fortect scans Windows for malware and unwanted programs and repairs the system files and settings they change, and its free scan shows what it finds on your PC before you decide anything.
For Sarthaks.club, follow the plan above as well: the browser steps take back permissions and settings that no scanner treats as a threat, and uninstalling the program that brought it removes the source.
Run Microsoft Defender's full scan and, if anything was found, its offline scan as a second opinion. If the symptoms are gone after the plan and both scans are clean, there is nothing more to do.
Sources
- Howtogeek: PUPs explained: What is a potentially unwanted program? (read October 6, 2026)
- Google Chrome Help: Use notifications to get alerts (no longer online) (read October 6, 2026)
- FTC: How to recognize, remove and avoid malware (read October 6, 2026)
- Microsoft Learn: Microsoft Defender Offline (read October 6, 2026)
- Microsoft Learn: How Microsoft names malware (read October 6, 2026)